Miami Todayhttp://www.miamitodaynews.com
The Newspaper for the Future of MiamiWed, 25 Feb 2015 14:15:10 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.15-year downtown ePrix deal in workshttp://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/5-year-downtown-eprix-deal-works/
http://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/5-year-downtown-eprix-deal-works/#commentsWed, 25 Feb 2015 14:15:10 +0000http://www.miamitodaynews.com/?p=26852As days wind down to the inaugural Miami ePrix downtown March 14, city commissioners will consider cementing a deal to host the Formula E races for the next five years. Mayor Tomás Regalado is today (2/26) to bring to the commission a resolution to authorize an agreement with Formula E to run the FIA Formula […]

]]>As days wind down to the inaugural Miami ePrix downtown March 14, city commissioners will consider cementing a deal to host the Formula E races for the next five years.

Mayor Tomás Regalado is today (2/26) to bring to the commission a resolution to authorize an agreement with Formula E to run the FIA Formula E Championship – the world’s first fully-electric racing series – yearly for five years.

A draft agreement says it would cover five Formula E championships downtown, including this year’s inaugural and running through 2019.

The cars have a maximum speed of 140 mph, and can accelerate from zero to 62 mph in three seconds.

In the agreement, Formula E would apply for permits, street closures and other plans with the city and finance all approvals and permits. Formula E must also pay for police, fire, and emergency personnel on site before, during and after races, the draft agreement says.

The mayor said everything is done for this year’s race. “They already have the permit for this year… The resolution enters into an agreement for the next five years,” he said.

“This year is already done. DOT [the Florida Department of Transportation] is on board, and all the stakeholders, AmericanAirlines Arena… they are going to be using the bayfront,” the mayor said.

He said race organizers have an agreement with Miami-Dade County to use Parcel B, a stretch of open waterfront east of the arena. The race route shows much of Parcel B being used as Pit Lane.

There’s no rush to approve the extended contract with race organizers, said the mayor, but it will be nice to get the commitment. “The race is on, no matter what happens Thursday,” he said of the March 14 event.

Last October, city officials met with organizers to announce the race date and route. The track in the heart of downtown makes its way under the MacArthur Causeway and around the arena.

Last fall, the mayor said, “This event will help to make Miami more of a sports city. In addition, we will show the younger generations that you may have motor racing without noise or pollution.”

The Miami ePrix is set along Biscayne Bay incorporating the backdrop of the city skyline. At 2.17 km and featuring eight corners, the temporary street circuit has been produced by track design company Ayesa. The track boasts a number of long straight legs and 90-degree corners on Biscayne Boulevard, with a pit mid-way around the lap at turn six.

Mayor Regalado said he’s excited about having car races downtown again, as the city had decades ago, “although they won’t be noisy” this time. The electric cars don’t have the traditional roaring engine of traditional Formula 1 cars.

Of the race organizers he said, “They’ve done their homework. They made presentations to all the stakeholders.” And the people who live downtown know what to expect, he said.

“This is not going to be an Ultra,” he said, referring to the annual electronic music festival in Bayfront Park that draws complaints about noise and disruptions.

]]>http://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/5-year-downtown-eprix-deal-works/feed/2826-836 interchange delayedhttp://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/826-836-interchange-delayed/
http://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/826-836-interchange-delayed/#commentsWed, 25 Feb 2015 14:10:47 +0000http://www.miamitodaynews.com/?p=26855Completion of Miami-Dade County’s most impactful road project – the interchange of state roads 826 and 836 – has been delayed until January 2016 because of inclement weather, but significant milestones have been reached, said project spokesman Oscar Gonzalez. Of the project’s 45 bridges, four are built of 783 individual segments. Each of these bridges […]

]]>Completion of Miami-Dade County’s most impactful road project – the interchange of state roads 826 and 836 – has been delayed until January 2016 because of inclement weather, but significant milestones have been reached, said project spokesman Oscar Gonzalez.

Of the project’s 45 bridges, four are built of 783 individual segments. Each of these bridges weighs 60 to 80 tons, he added.

“We just placed the last segmented bridge a couple of weeks ago; two are open to traffic and the other two will be open by the end of the year,” Mr. Gonzalez said. A special crane designed for the curvature of the segmented bridges will be disassembled and is likely to be retrofitted for another job, he said.

The 826/836 interchange project, begun in 2009, is a collaboration between the Florida Department of Transportation and the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority. The interchange, which Mr. Gonzalez has described as “a pivot point,” is used by 430,000 motorists each day. When it is completed, drivers going north on State Road 826 will have a direct connection – for the first time – to westbound State Road 836, and then to the Florida Turnpike.

As construction pushes forward, drivers can expect more lane closures and rerouting, Mr. Gonzalez said last week. In March or April, southbound drivers on State Road 826 will be encounter construction at Northwest 25th Street. Then, westbound traffic on State Road 836 will be shifted to the future eastbound lanes to allow for the construction on the permanent westbound lanes, and exits that were previously on the left will be temporarily shifted to the right.

“Drivers are going to be seeing changes, but we are bringing benefits on line on 836 westbound,” Mr. Gonzalez said. “This will allow us to finish.” The project remains on budget at $560 million, he added.

Meanwhile, the Alton Road drainage project on Miami Beach pushes north. It includes the installation of three pump stations (at Fifth, 10th and 14th streets) adding to the new drainage system. It’s an effort to alleviate the perennial flooding problems the barrier island has experienced, which are feared to grow worse with sea-level rise.

The project includes rebuilding the roadway, driveways, sidewalk and pedestrian ramps, and building new concrete islands. Some parking spaces will be lost, and the new design includes barriers to prevent left turns at a few chokepoints. The Alton Road project, which began in April 2013, is expected to be completed to Michigan Avenue in August.

]]>http://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/826-836-interchange-delayed/feed/4Miami International shines in on-time flightshttp://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/miami-international-shines-time-flights/
http://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/miami-international-shines-time-flights/#commentsWed, 25 Feb 2015 14:05:44 +0000http://www.miamitodaynews.com/?p=26858Miami International Airport ranked ninth of 20 large airports in the world for on-time performance of arriving and departing flights in 2014, according to a report released by OAG, formerly Official Airline Guide, a United Kingdom-based business providing aviation information and analytical services. Miami’s on-time performance – defined as departures and arrivals that take place […]

]]>Miami International Airport ranked ninth of 20 large airports in the world for on-time performance of arriving and departing flights in 2014, according to a report released by OAG, formerly Official Airline Guide, a United Kingdom-based business providing aviation information and analytical services.

Miami’s on-time performance – defined as departures and arrivals that take place within 15 minutes of schedule – was 83.2%.

According to the report, the top 20 large airports – defined as handling more than 20 million scheduled seats per year — on average ensured that 82.9% of arriving and departing flights were within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival and departure times in 2014. The average data coverage for these airports was 90%.

The airports that surpassed MIA last year include Munich (89%), Tokyo Haneda (87.9%), Seattle (86.2%), Singapore Changi (85.3%), Minneapolis (84.5%), as well as Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Sydney.

Airports with the lowest on-time numbers were Rome Fiumicino and Kuala Lumpur (79.1%), and Seoul Incheon and Houston (78.8%).

While four US airports made the top 10 list, MIA was one of only two that serve more than 40 million passengers, according to a statement provided by Miami-Dade Aviation Department.

“We are extremely proud of this ranking, especially given that MIA is the busiest US airport for international freight and the second busiest for international passengers,” said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. Gonzalez in the written statement. “Despite facing the challenges that come with being a top global gateway, our efficient infrastructure and strong partnership with our airlines has placed us among the best in the world for on-time performance. We understand and appreciate the value of on-time flights to our passengers and cargo customers, and this recognition is a testament to the hard work of the entire MIA community.”

The release adds MIA benefits from a highly efficient, four-runway airfield with nearly zero airfield delays and a new North Terminal facility for American Airlines’ Latin American and Caribbean hub that features dual taxiways for quick aircraft turnarounds.

None of the top 20 large airports achieved over 90% on-time performance in 2014. According to OAG’s report, this reflects greater operational challenges large airports face.

“Aside from congestion due to high demand for slots, these airports are also more likely to feel the effect of disruption elsewhere as their route networks include many more airports,” the report states.

In addition, the OAG report says the higher proportion of long-haul flights that these large airports handle also provides more scope for flight duration to vary from the schedule simply through head and tail winds.

“The factors contributing to a good on-time performance are sometimes out of the control of an airport or airline,” the report says. “However, there are some that still manage to perform consistently well.

The shift from small to medium and large airports by low-cost carriers is definitely becoming a factor, making it especially challenging for larger airports to consistently deliver high on-time performance when they increasingly have a mix of old-line carriers and low-cost operators to handle, the report states. “The type of aircraft an airport handles is also a contributory factor, with ranges in mix bringing their own complexity.”

American Airlines and US Airways, who merged together are among MIA’s largest carriers, had a combined 4,779 arrivals at Miami in December, 77.9% of which were on time, according to the US Department of Transportation’s latest monthly Air Travel Consumer Report. Of those flights, American’s 77.1% of its 4,250 were on time and 84.8% of US Airways’ 521 were on time.

The report also lists the percentage of all carriers’ flight operations arriving and departing on time in December for 18 time periods, beginning at 6 a.m. and ending between 11 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. the next day.

The overall on-time arrival at MIA was 79.1% with the highest at 96.6% between 6 a.m. and 6:59 a.m. and the lowest of 67.4% between 8 p.m. and 8:59 p.m.

For departures in December, 78.8% left on time, with the high of 90.9% between 8 a.m. and 8:59 a.m. and the lowest at 68.5% between 5 p.m. and 5:59 p.m.

In May 2014, Miami International Airport ranked sixth in on-time flight performance among the nation’s 25 busiest airports, according to data in the US Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report.

According to the report, which covers domestic flights only, 82.5% of arriving flights and 82.2% of departing flights at Miami International were on time in May.

That was better than an on-time average of 77.3% for all major US airports in May, according to the department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Miami International’s on-time performance in May was an improvement from a year earlier, in May 2013, when it posted an on-time arrival rate of 81.1% and an on-time departure rate of 79.6%, Bureau of Transportation statistics show.

]]>http://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/miami-international-shines-time-flights/feed/0Business-students network in workshttp://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/business-students-network-works/
http://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/business-students-network-works/#commentsWed, 25 Feb 2015 14:01:15 +0000http://www.miamitodaynews.com/?p=26864Creating high-paying economic opportunities has been the focus of One Community One Goal since its inception more than two decades ago. But in its most recent iteration, a focus has become how to connect bright, educated people with businesses searching for them. The Talent Development Network, to be rolled out this year, launches a group […]

]]>Creating high-paying economic opportunities has been the focus of One Community One Goal since its inception more than two decades ago. But in its most recent iteration, a focus has become how to connect bright, educated people with businesses searching for them.

The Talent Development Network, to be rolled out this year, launches a group of students into the business community with internships, coaching, a network of contacts and the tools they will need to start or go the next level in their careers.

“This is a home run,” said Matt Haggman, Miami program director for the Knight Foundation. He and Nelson Lazo, CEO of Doctors Hospital, took over as One Community co-chairs late last year.

Miami-Dade County has the seventh-largest number of college students in the country, Mr. Haggman said, so there’s no lack of young people who are pursuing educations. But employers lament that they can’t find qualified people to fill positions.

“We want to end that disconnect. It will be an internship program on a giant scale,” he said. “If it’s done right, networking and mentoring among members of the cohort may well be the biggest contributor to its success. Building relationships with others is critical and a very exciting component of this.”

It might be of particular value to youths from underprivileged economic backgrounds, said Mr. Lazo. “It’s a way in, an introduction that they may not have had before.”

Florida International University will play a prominent role in the launch, but all local universities have gotten involved, Mr. Haggman said. The program is an outgrowth of the Academic Leaders Council, an initiative that gathers the presidents of Barry University, FIU, Florida Memorial University, Miami Dade College, St. Thomas University and the University of Miami, along with Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, to brainstorm.

“It’s really tremendous to have these university presidents in one room with the single aim of improving opportunities in this community,” Mr. Lazo said. “I don’t think it’s been done before.”

“It’s a great academic collaboration,” Mr. Haggman agreed.

The next step is to recruit businesses people who will hire interns and give them real-life experience, he said. Mr. Lazo, who previously headed One Community’s life sciences and healthcare task force, said he hopes many of the internships will be in technology and in medical fields, which will help keep skilled people here.

“It’s much more expensive if you have to go elsewhere to hire,” he said. Houston has become a medical hub and has drawn many healthcare workers, especially nurses, away from Miami. “If they had better opportunities here to continue their education, they would be more likely to stay. It’s much more cost-effective to [retain] the employees you already have, and support them in continuing their education and building their skills.”

The need for technology workers is great, Mr. Lazo said. “In my hospital, nearly everything we do is tied to tech.” From medical record-keeping to robotic surgery, he said, endless innovations require people with specialized knowledge to understand the technology that supports the tools.

Young college students are ideally suited for the field, he said. “They live it; they’ve been around technology their whole lives. It’s natural to them.”

With the second-highest growth rate nationally in college-educated young people, Mr. Haggman said, Miami’s brain drain could be a thing of the past, provided the talent-to-careers disconnect can be eliminated.

“We have terrific urban living, and a growing downtown population of people ages 25 to 34,” Mr. Haggman said. “We now have a case to be made.”

]]>http://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/business-students-network-works/feed/0Transit studies out, revenue hunt inhttp://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/transit-studies-revenue-hunt/
http://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/transit-studies-revenue-hunt/#commentsWed, 25 Feb 2015 14:00:52 +0000http://www.miamitodaynews.com/?p=26848The head of the Miami-Dade County committee that targets transportation says he wants transit projects to become more than just ideas on paper. The county has commissioned studies on new transit but committee members say little has come to fruition. “We have seen over the last couple of years every study possible done on corridors […]

]]>The head of the Miami-Dade County committee that targets transportation says he wants transit projects to become more than just ideas on paper. The county has commissioned studies on new transit but committee members say little has come to fruition.

“We have seen over the last couple of years every study possible done on corridors and what needs to be done. I don’t propose that this committee should launch any more studies or investigations or think-tanks,” said Esteban Bovo Jr., who chairs the Transit and Mobility Services Committee. “What I do believe has to be our mission is to identify sources of funding that could… get these projects done.”

Projects on the table include light rail to link downtown and Miami Beach and a streetcar line in Miami’s urban core. Both ideas pre-date the past recession but construction has started on neither.

“I’m not here today to commit to one corridor or another,” Commissioner Bovo told the meeting. “But I will tell you this: We need to pick a corridor and we need to get it done.”

He went as far as to say that if there’s no dedicated funding by the end of his two years as committee chairman, he’d consider his tenure “a failure.”

Mr. Bovo added that he will approach congressional and state legislature leaders about Miami-Dade’s traffic woes.

“I don’t expect the federal government to fund 80% of our projects,” he said. “What I do expect is for us to come up with a plan that is funded 80% and ask them to top it off.”

The county collects a half-cent sales surtax that was meant to expand Metrorail. But revenue was diverted and just one of eight promised projects was built.

Among revenue sources that Mr. Bovo mentioned at the first committee meeting Feb. 11 are a bed tax and public-private partnerships.

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]]>http://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/classified-ads-151/feed/0Metromover fare is right track, but let voters engineer ithttp://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/metromover-fare-right-track-let-voters-engineer/
http://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/metromover-fare-right-track-let-voters-engineer/#commentsWed, 25 Feb 2015 14:00:41 +0000http://www.miamitodaynews.com/?p=26810We applaud a county committee that seeks a fare on our long-free Metro-mover but prefer a means other than a direct commission vote to do the job. Though a fare is fair for many reasons, it’s unlikely to pass the commission – and it probably shouldn’t, because the county pledged a free system to win […]

]]>We applaud a county committee that seeks a fare on our long-free Metro-mover but prefer a means other than a direct commission vote to do the job.

Though a fare is fair for many reasons, it’s unlikely to pass the commission – and it probably shouldn’t, because the county pledged a free system to win voter OK of a transit sales tax.

To overturn the ride-free ordinance would require an improbable nine of 13 commission votes. It would be easier to put the issue on the ballot and let voters themselves decide. That would not only be more easily achieved but would be equitable – let the people choose to unwind the misguided promise.

That would leave commissioners blameless, because in 2002 they offered voters a free ride and made it law. So it should be those holding the IOU who decide whether the county must forever keep that promise – a pledge that deters transit growth and perpetuates roadway gridlock.

If it’s counterintuitive that free transit perpetuates gridlock, note this: Metro-mover rides aren’t really free. The county subsidizes them. Every dollar of subsidy could have been spent to add transportation rather than just keep what we have going.

Transit subsidies are substantial. They pulled $168 million from county general funds in 2013 and $18 million from local gas taxes. That’s $186 million a year that could have helped grow transit. You can bond that into billions.

Granted, only some of that money went to Metromover. Also granted, all urban transit gets some subsidy.

Still, every million we use to grow transit rather than fund free rides is better spent. And our general property taxes must do the job if fares aren’t funding transit as transportation sales tax receipts shift in coming years to repaying bonds for what we’ve already spent.

We’ll pay either way, but direct payment seems more equitable than taxing those who don’t ride equally with those who do. Plus, via fares we can let tourists help us pay for transit that they now ride free.

Riders are using Metromover more and more. Last year use grew 3.6%, outpacing the larger Metrorail system’s 2.6% gain. Meanwhile, bus use fell 2.2%.

The 4.4-mile Metromover serving the urban core carried 9.2 million passengers last year, half of what Metrorail carried and only an eighth of what the buses did. Still, Metromover is where the growth is.

When Metromover went free in 2002, riders increased 51% from the same month the prior year, so some worry that with a fare these riders would stop using the system.

But it’s no longer 2002, and what would those riders do now instead? Driving and parking in the urban core get worse each year and far more expensive too. Meanwhile, our downtown population is larger, younger and more likely to rely on transit. What could replace a $1 Metromover ride for economy, efficiency or speed? For the vast majority, probably nothing. But it would bring the system more than $9 million annually.

Metromover now is carrying passengers who need it far more. We’ll add more soon as more people live downtown, more offices fill, Brickell City Centre opens (and with it a new Eighth Street Metromover station that was closed even as system use rose), and frustration with driving grows exponentially.

Timing is ideal to let users help fund transportation’s growth without fear of a rapid falloff in riders.

Of course, a fare won’t be popular. It’s never popular to pay for something that once was free. Yet it’s rational and fair.

The county says a 50-cent fare would barely cover the cost of collecting the money. At $1, however, a fare could generate money for the system, which is aging badly and needs not only expansion but upgrades to improve reliability.

Commissioners are understandably reluctant to push for a fare. Who wants to be linked with fees?

But there’s no political downside to letting voters themselves decide if people who ride Metromover should help maintain it rather than spreading the cost of downtown transit equally around the county and letting the tourists off free.

And it’s only right that voters get the final say. They created a transit tax for new service that commissioners quickly subverted to other uses. If commissioners also decide on their own to levy a fare it’s doubly duplicitous.

Given the right to vote and the facts, however, Miami-Dade residents are wise enough to choose the right road – one that lets riders pay for a privilege that grows more valuable with every mile per hour that downtown traffic slows and every dollar per hour that parking costs rise.

]]>http://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/metromover-fare-right-track-let-voters-engineer/feed/8Port rail line hauls bonanzahttp://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/port-rail-line-hauls-bonanza/
http://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/port-rail-line-hauls-bonanza/#commentsWed, 25 Feb 2015 14:00:37 +0000http://www.miamitodaynews.com/?p=26867PortMiami has been efficiently connecting this city to the rest of the nation ever since its rail system was expanded, say port officials. “We have up to two double-stacked trains that can take between 50 and 150 containers leaving the port every day,” said Eric Olafson, manager of cargo development. “Each train has the capacity […]

]]>PortMiami has been efficiently connecting this city to the rest of the nation ever since its rail system was expanded, say port officials.

“We have up to two double-stacked trains that can take between 50 and 150 containers leaving the port every day,” said Eric Olafson, manager of cargo development. “Each train has the capacity to take up to 150 trucks off the road.”

Prior to the reopening of the rail line, PortMiami had not had on-dock rail service since 2006, leaving trucks as the sole mode of domestic cargo transportation in and out of the seaport.

Jackson-based Florida East Coast Railway and PortMiami formed an alliance to rebuild the railway, with the railway adding 9,000 feet of processing track, according to Debra Phillips, vice president for the railway’s corporate communications.

“Every mode of transportation is involved in the shipping of a product,” Ms. Phillips said. “In today’s marketplace, customers are going beyond US borders and need efficient transfer from ship to rail.”

Mr. Olafson said the port is shipping a wide variety of products by rail, including seed corn grown and harvested in Chile in March, shipped through the Panama Canal, offloaded at PortMiami and – using the FEC Intermodal Rail – offloaded in Chicago and then transported to the heartland to be planted for the spring harvest.

Cotton and yarn travels by rail from Charlotte, NC, to PortMiami and then is shipped to Honduras and Guatemala, with finished goods then shipped from Central America to the US distribution centers via PortMiami.

The Thread Express, an intermodal stacktrain service operated by the FEC and CSX Intermodal, runs between PortMiami and a rail hub in Charlotte, NC. Mr. Olafson said before the Thread Express, companies like Hanes would truck their containers over streets and highways.

The trains leaving PortMiami’s rail system also transport alcohol for major distributors in Australia, auto parts from the Nissan plant in Tennessee to St. Petersburg, Russia, and recycled paper from a large plant in Orlando to China.

In addition, trains leave the port with empty containers from the shipping lines and carry them as far as California, Mr. Olafson said.

PortMiami invested $50 million in the restoration of its on-port freight rail system, creating a connection to the national rail system and expediting the movement of goods throughout Florida and the continental US, according to a PortMiami press release. The release also states that with the port being the closest one in the US to Latin America, improving the rail system gives PortMiami the advantage of transferring South American grain to the rest of the US faster and more efficiently than any other port in the country.

PortMiami is to be the first port of call on the Asia-America trade route via the expanded Panama Canal. Products that move through the port include fresh citrus from Florida, produce, electronics, household goods and building supplies delivered from Asia and South America.

According to PortMiami’s website, the seamless ship-to-rail transfer through the Sunshine Gateway service allows the port to handle additional volumes and ensures that shipments move more quickly and efficiently with the potential to reach 70% of the US population in four days or less.

]]>These film permits were issued last week by the Miami-Dade County Mayor’s Office of Film & Entertainment, (305) 375-3288; the Miami Mayor’s Office of Film, Arts & Entertainment, (305) 860-3823; and the Miami Beach Office of Arts, Culture and Entertainment-Film and Print Division, (305) 673-7070.

]]>http://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/filming-miami-february-26-2015/feed/0Profile: Dolores Sukhdeohttp://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/profile-dolores-sukhdeo/
http://www.miamitodaynews.com/2015/02/25/profile-dolores-sukhdeo/#commentsWed, 25 Feb 2015 14:00:16 +0000http://www.miamitodaynews.com/?p=26805It doesn’t take more than a few seconds to learn that Downton Abbey is Dolores Sukhdeo’s favorite television show. That’s not surprising, given how popular the PBS British drama series is with the rest of the country, but says a lot for the show when one of its most ardent fans is the CEO of […]

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]]>It doesn’t take more than a few seconds to learn that Downton Abbey is Dolores Sukhdeo’s favorite television show. That’s not surprising, given how popular the PBS British drama series is with the rest of the country, but says a lot for the show when one of its most ardent fans is the CEO of a public television station.

Of course, Ms. Sukhdeo loves all the programs aired on WPBT 2 ranging from helping young children prepare for school to investigations into what’s really happening with the water and sewer system in Miami-Dade.

She sees her primary responsibilities as listening to the community and determining content that will have an impact on viewers’ lives.

WPBT 2 receives about 15% of its funding from the government and the rest from individuals, charities and corporations. Ms. Sukhdeo likes the immediate feedback the station gets from its viewers and members because she learns what is going well and what needs improvement.

Originally from New England, Ms. Sukhdeo came to South Florida in 1998 and found a sense of community second to none in the country.